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Florida State looks for improvement during bye week

AP photo

By Brad Milner | News Herald Writer

Published: Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 07:45 PM.

TALLAHASSEE — Jimbo Fisher said the focus this week isn’t so much on Clemson as it is Florida State itself.

The Seminoles have an off week after improving to 5-0 overall with a 63-0 victory over Maryland Saturday. Sixth-ranked FSU set a school record for the most lopsided victory over a ranked opponent and has its biggest challenge Oct. 19 at Clemson, which also is unbeaten and No. 3 in the nation.

This is FSU’s final bye week of the season. It also was off Sept. 7 after opening at Pittsburgh on Labor Day. The Seminoles will finish with seven straight games, including five within the Atlantic Coast Conference.

There is little doubt FSU will spend some time installing the game plan for the Tigers, but Fisher said there are more important items on the docket, at least early in the week.

“We’re not thinking about Clemson, it’s about getting better this week,” Fisher said. “Get caught up on schoolwork, make sure you're getting your I's dotted and T's crossed and think about getting better and what we have to do on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's practices and don't get caught up in the next game. That will take care of itself.”

Fisher said he was pleased with where FSU is after five games with the Seminoles tied atop the Atlantic Division at 3-0. They also are third in the nation in scoring offense (53.6 points), second in passing efficiency behind Jameis Winston and sixth in total offense (549). FSU scored on eight consecutive possessions to throttle Maryland.

FSU’s defense put together its best performance against a Maryland offense that was averaging 39 points per game entering Saturday. The Seminoles started fast on defense for the first time this season and will need to duplicate the feat against Tajh Boyd and Clemson in two weeks.

TALLAHASSEE — Jimbo Fisher said the focus this week isn’t so much on Clemson as it is Florida State itself.

The Seminoles have an off week after improving to 5-0 overall with a 63-0 victory over Maryland Saturday. Sixth-ranked FSU set a school record for the most lopsided victory over a ranked opponent and has its biggest challenge Oct. 19 at Clemson, which also is unbeaten and No. 3 in the nation.

This is FSU’s final bye week of the season. It also was off Sept. 7 after opening at Pittsburgh on Labor Day. The Seminoles will finish with seven straight games, including five within the Atlantic Coast Conference.

There is little doubt FSU will spend some time installing the game plan for the Tigers, but Fisher said there are more important items on the docket, at least early in the week.

“We’re not thinking about Clemson, it’s about getting better this week,” Fisher said. “Get caught up on schoolwork, make sure you're getting your I's dotted and T's crossed and think about getting better and what we have to do on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's practices and don't get caught up in the next game. That will take care of itself.”

Fisher said he was pleased with where FSU is after five games with the Seminoles tied atop the Atlantic Division at 3-0. They also are third in the nation in scoring offense (53.6 points), second in passing efficiency behind Jameis Winston and sixth in total offense (549). FSU scored on eight consecutive possessions to throttle Maryland.

FSU’s defense put together its best performance against a Maryland offense that was averaging 39 points per game entering Saturday. The Seminoles started fast on defense for the first time this season and will need to duplicate the feat against Tajh Boyd and Clemson in two weeks.

FSU follows with homes games against North Carolina State (Oct. 26) and Miami (Nov. 2) in a stretch that will determine the favorite in the ACC. FSU can be included in the short list of teams for that moniker so far along with unbeaten Miami and Virginia Tech, which is a quite 5-1 after opening the year with myriad questions.

“Got to rest up and take care of our bodies and make good decisions with what we’re doing,” Fisher said. “Proud of where we are so far and we’ve done what we’ve supposed to have done and we're putting ourselves in position to play some good ball.”

’Nole notes: FSU scored 40 or more points in five straight games for the first time since 1999. The school record is seven straight games set in 1995. … Roberto Aguayo extended his streak of consecutive made kicks to 49 with nine extra points against Maryland. … Jacob Coker rushed for a 24-yard score in becoming the Seminoles’ 12th player to tally a touchdown on offense this season. A total of 14 players have scored for FSU. … Nick O’Leary caught two touchdowns to increase his career total to nine, putting him at third on FSU’s all-time list for tight ends. … Karlos Williams scored twice against Maryland and leads all running backs with six touchdowns.